Basketball is a popular sport played by professionals and amateurs alike and is also a wide-viewed sport that is typically broadcasted on national and local television. The game is often played in schoolyard playgrounds, at parks, in residential driveways, and at local recreational centers. An organized basketball game is played on a basketball court having a playing surface that consists of a generally rectangular floor and two basketball goals that are disposed at opposite ends of the basketball court and typically positioned ten feet from the court. A basketball goal includes a round metal rim or hoop that is secured to backboard which is attached to a frame, and netting that is suspended from the rim. The diameter of the basketball hoop is larger than that of a basketball to allow the ball to fall through the hoop during play. The playing surface includes a number of geometric markings, such as circles, arcs, and a variety of straight and curved lines, that define the playing boundaries prescribed by game rules. Teams compete against each other over the course of 2 to 3 hours where players assume offensive and defensive roles while attempting to score points by throwing a basketball through the opponent's basketball hoop. The team with the most points wins.
During the basketball game, players normally employ guard, center and forward positions on the basketball court. More particularly, the playing positions are typically defined as point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center. Each player assumes a particular position based on the player's performance skills. For example, the player assigned to a point guard position is usually the person who is the team's best basketball handler and passer, and a shooting guard is usually the team's best basketball shooter.
Many individuals simply enjoy the opportunity to shoot basketballs without having to follow particular rules or participate in officiated games. As such, the game is often played with fewer players and basketball shots are made on a basketball goal that is often attached to a garage, or fixed to a frame that is secured to a base having a ballast. Whether on a team or playing solo, basketball players consistently strive to gain the satisfaction of improving the frequency of successful basketball shots.
Players constantly train to perfect their shooting and handling skills of the basketball on the court. A player must develop good balance, coordination, concentration, form and technique, and must also master the ability to make successful shots on goal from various positions on the basketball court. Players spend countless hours practicing a variety of different shots that generally include two-handed shots, one-handed shots, jump shots, hook shots, lay-up shots, one-handed underhand, three-point shots, and bank shots. Since repetitive shots are often made from a single location on the basketball court, the practicing player often becomes accustomed to this level of comfort thereby diminishing the player's ability and confidence to make successful shots from different locations on the court. To improve the frequency rate of successful shots made on basketball goal, it is important for individual players to practice their shooting skills by shooting basketballs from different locations on the basketball court. To better assist individual players in improving their shooting skills, and gaining confidence in their shooting abilities, many players have employed the help of shooting aids.
There are a number of shooting aids on the market today that are designed to help a basketball player improve his/her shooting skills. Examples of shooting aids include: video camera based tracking systems that capture images of shot trajectories; mechanical braces used on an individual's arm, wrist or hand to help position the extremities in proper angle for successfully shooting a basketball within a hoop; spot location devices, such as floor mats or position markers that are placed on a playing surface to indicate shot locations to a player from where to make basketball shots; gesture recognition systems that include a plurality of markers fixed to a person's body to permit a camera to capture and analyze body movements during play; sophisticated computer analysis systems including complex software used for analyzing a basketball player's performance; and finally, a variety of self-contained electronic devices that are attached to a player to provide an audio or illuminated signal to indicate improper positioning of a player, or an indication of a successful shot being made.
Many conventional shooting aid devices or systems are too complex or sophisticated to integrate for use, are expensive, and require time consuming assembly. Other devices are bulky to use, non-user friendly, and are simply ineffective in assisting basketball players for improving their shooting skills. Further, such devices fail to provide a method of being able to keep track of a person's shooting percentages during a basketball shooting session, and to provide a historical log of information for a person to review and analyze to help determine whether improvements are being made over time. Conventional aids that do provide a data log, fail to assist a player in improving their shooting skills from different shooting locations on the basketball court.
Accordingly, what is desired is a basketball shooting aid system that improves a person's shooting performance from multiple locations on a basketball court, monitors and records real-time shooting percentages of basketball players during shooting sessions, and provides historical data for performance review.